Pakistan Ranks in the Middle on Infrastructure & Logistics

[Riaz Haq]

The World Bank’s (WB) Logistics Performance Index (LPI) ranks Pakistan at number 72 for 2014, out of 160 countries.

LPI  is ranking is based the efficiency of customs, border management and clearance as well as the quality of trade and transportation infrastructure. It also comprehends the quality of logistics services, the ability to track and trace consignments and the frequency at which shipments correctly reach their destinations on schedule.

The first LPI survey conducted in 2007 ranked Pakistan at number 68, which fell to a low of 110 in 2010 before recovering to 71st position in 2012.

Logistics performance is an important indicator of a nation's level of development and its ability to participate in global trade.

Another similarly important indicator is the ranking of a country on OECD survey of economic complexity compiled by Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  This indicator comprehends the diversity of products ad services traded and the number of trading partners. The more diverse the trade and trading partners, the higher the rank. Pakistan ranks 91 on this index among 144 countries as of 2012. It ranks higher than single-commodity oil exporting nations  like Iran and Saudi Arabia but lower than the newly industrialized Asian nations.

While Pakistan has made some progress on logistics and trade, it still has a long way to go to improve the lives of its citizens through infrastructure improvements and diversification of its products and services trade. Timely execution of Pak-China industrial corridor plans will hopefully help Pakistan make progress on this front.

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[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan Logistics Industry to 2020 - $30.77 Billion Outlook and Growth Opportunities - Research and Markets

Pakistan Vision 2025 seeks to enhance the national transportation infrastructure by establishing an efficient and integrated transportation and logistics system. Establishing industrial parks and developing SEZs along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will strengthen the transportation network and logistics infrastructure. Road freight transportation contributed over 90% of the goods transported by land.

Rail freight is likely to gain share due to modernization and expansion. High priority is given to road network development. Private sector participation in logistics infrastructure development is likely to gain momentum, and transportation and warehousing are likely to lead logistics industry growth during 2016-2020.

The potential opportunities in the logistics industry in Pakistan, is estimated at approximately US $ 30.77 billion in 2015. Key targets set in the national development initiatives for the transportation sector include reduction in transportation costs, effective connectivity between rural areas and urban centres, inter-provincial high-speed connectivity. Also high priority is given for the development of integrated road/rail networks between economic hubs (including air, sea and dry ports) and high capacity transportation corridors connecting with major regional trading partners.

Up-gradation of all major airports to trans-shipment hubs, development of cargo villages, modernization of rail transport, E-commerce, CPEC related investments in industrial centres and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will serve as primary macro drivers for logistics sector growth. CPEC related projects intend to upgrade and modernize road transport and related logistics infrastructure such as logistics park and establishment of cargo villages at major airports. Hence, high priority is given for road network development; private sector participation in logistics infrastructure development is likely to gain momentum.

Storage and Warehousing demand from CPEC related industrial corridors are likely to derive increased storage and warehousing requirements including cold chain logistics, establishment of Cargo Villages Ports will facilitate goods traffic to central Asian countries and evolve as a major transhipment hub in the region.


http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160921005655/en/Pakistan-Lo...

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan has 116 diplomatic missions in other countries. This figure includes 85 embassies, 29 consulates and 2 permanent missions.

Pakistan ranks 27 in the world and 7th in Asia on Lowery diplomacy index.

India has 181 missions including 124 embassies and 48 consulates. 

India ranks 12th in the world and 3rd in Asia on Lowery Diplomacy Index.

United States is number 1 and China is number 2 on diplomacy index.

US has 273 diplomatic missions while China has 268. 

France ranks 3rd, Russia 4th and Japan 5th in the world. 

https://globaldiplomacyindex.lowyinstitute.org/country_rank.html

[Riaz Haq]

Alibaba moves to attract Pakistani exporters towards B2B portal

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/296986-alibaba-moves-to-attract-pa...

Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba Group geared up efforts to get Pakistan’s exporters listed on its multination business-to-business electronic portal, the company’s senior executive said on Monday, after the firm expressed its intention to acquire a Norwegian telco’s financial subsidiary in the country.

Alibaba.com's Country Manager Jason Jia said the group has launched Pakistan pavilion on the website to showcase indigenous product listings following the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and Alibaba Group signed a pact to improve the country’s ecommerce and boost exporters’ business last year.

“We want to work together to introduce Pakistani products to the world markets,” Jia said, addressing a roadshow for Karachi-based businessmen who constitute a negligible portion of the platform’s registered suppliers.

Currently, there are 3,000 paid members and most of them are based in Sialkot, Lahore and Faisalabad, while textile, leather, surgical instruments and sports goods sectors are the top categories. Even before the launch of Pakistan’s page, Alibaba has been attracting local buyers and suppliers. Overall, it has around 250,000 registered members from Pakistan. The site charges up to $1,500 annually from featured suppliers. Alibaba also signed up five local partners, including NJ Dynamic Solutions, EB Excels, NextBridge, Alpharex International and Trademor to provide sales and service support to member companies.

“We are looking for more from Karachi, especially apparel and garments sector,” Jia said, referring to more than three million small and medium businesses in the country.

Multilingual Alibaba.com is the world’s leading business-to-business portal operating in 190 countries. It has two million online shops and 260 million plus buyers from across the world.

Mohammad Zia, a rock salt trader posed trust on the site’s capacity to generate orders for his start-up. “I have generated a good number of orders,” Zia said, declining to share the numbers, but added that his company grew to 10-worker payrolls from four in the past two years.

Zia said payment from foreign buyers gives him jittery and “so, if Alipay comes in there will be a much relief”. “Currently, we receive payment from banking channels, and Alibaba’s involvement in payment too will make all the things integrated,” he added.

Ant Financial Services Group, an affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, agreed to acquire 45 percent stake worth around Rs20 billion in a subsidiary of Norwegian Telenor to broaden access to financial services through digital payment solutions in Pakistan. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Ant’s technology Alipay, the world’s largest digital payment platform, would bring mobile payment and inclusive financial services to individuals as well as small and micro businesses in Pakistan where 90 percent of online orders of around Rs10 billion are fulfilled using cash-on-delivery.

[Riaz Haq]

#Pakistani #Startup Oware Raises $3.3 Million To Address Pakistan’s $35 Billion #Logistics Market. #US investors include Flexport Fund, Ratio Ventures, Seedstars International Ventures, Osiris Group, Swiss Founders Fund, Reflect Ventures, others.
@forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidprosser/2022/04/28/oware-raises-3...

"To get to its end destination, a product has to move between several warehouses, fulfilment centres and trucks,” adds Nisar. “This complex ballet is managed by multiple businesses without interconnected systems. Our vision is to build a large scale connected world of distribution that enables a faster route to market for our customers.”



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Fixing Pakistan’s outdated logistics infrastructure will help the country's businesses grow and expand the economy, says start-up Oware, which is today announcing a $3.3 million seed financing round. The company, founded last June, promises to help businesses increase sales through more flexible warehousing and smarter distribution.

Oware founders Raza Kazmi and Adil Nisar argue that businesses across Pakistan are being held back by antiquated logistics systems. They struggle to secure new warehousing capacity to store inventory, the founders say, find it difficult to monitor their inventories, and face complex distribution problems.

“Our solution to that problem is based on a shared infrastructure that enables businesses to build sales without substantially increasing their costs,” explains Nisar. “The aim is to level the playing field for Pakistani businesses, because it’s currently only the large multinationals that have access to modern systems.”

In that context, Oware’s solutions are essentially three-fold. First, the business has opened 15 warehouses across four cities offering 500,000 square foot of space to rent; businesses can simply sign up to lease the space they need in any of these facilities, rather than having to find warehousing for themselves.

In addition, Oware offers a distribution service, moving businesses' goods from the warehouse to customers such as retailers and fulfilment centres, in line with their orders. This business-to-business distribution is crucial in a country were competition for last-mile delivery to the consumer has improved performance in recent times, but where previous stages of distribution have been ignored.

The final piece in the jigsaw is modernised logistics technology. Oware is building out dashboards that connect to all the moving parts of supply and distribution so that customers have far greater visibility of their stock levels and operations. The technology can also help reduce costs – for example, by analysing the trade-off between warehousing costs and delivery prices to identify where best to store inventory.

"Local businesses remain trapped in an archaic and opaque environment dealing with antiquated supply chain systems that are no longer fit for purpose and remain slow, limited, and capital intensive," says Kazmi. "The time to set up operations is too long, there is limited visibility or tracking of orders, and the execution of processes is inefficient in terms of speed and cost, which we are on a mission to solve".